HYDROTHERAPY
by ejb
Summary: Scott returns from one rescue and goes out on another. T.V. version


Thunderbirds and the Tracy family are the creation of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. The rights are owned by Granada Television.

Grateful thanks to my wonderful betas, Quiller and Dickonfan for their eagle eyes and helpful advice.

HYDROTHERAPY

The early morning sun shone down on a scene of total devastation. Smoke and dust filled the air above the partially collapsed apartment block that once housed a number of families. Fleets of ambulances were rushing back and forth ferrying the last few casualties to hospital. Fire fighters and police also contributed their work in the disaster zone which was believed to have been caused by a gas leak.

Amongst this scene of chaos, Scott Tracy was sitting at the Mobile Control Unit with the rescue co-ordinators around him, all busily doing their own allocated work. He had been watching his brothers working desperately to bring a number of residents out of the building with the assistance of the local fire fighters. Now most of the work was done but Gordon and John were still inside what was left of the building as Virgil struggled hard to hold up one wall with the Domo. Reports had come in saying that some children were still trapped in one of the ground floor apartments. Their mother had been rescued earlier as she had just stepped out of her door to give a message to a neighbour when the explosion happened. Although she had suffered some slight injuries herself, she refused to leave the scene until she knew her children were safe and waited anxiously with the paramedics.

Engulfed in the choking dust and debris John finally managed to break through one of the doors that led into the remnants of the former home.

"Okay, Gordon, lets get them found and out of here." His voice was distorted by the protective headgear and mask worn on these occasions.

"I'll check the bedrooms, you look elsewhere," Gordon replied as he flicked his torch on and ran over to the doors that led in that direction.

John began his search in what was left of the kitchen and heard a small whimpering noise coming from under the table. Looking beneath, he shone his torch and found a small girl aged about six, her face covered in grime except for two lines of tears that had washed her cheeks. Beside her a small boy lay huddled in fear against his sister. After a quick scan with his torch John was relieved to see that the children were apparently unhurt and gently spoke to them.

"Come on out and I'll take you both to your Mommy, she's waiting for you outside," he said to reassure them. "What are your names?"

"I'm Zara and this is my brother Ben," the small girl replied as she willingly took John's outstretched hand with which he pulled her out. With her other hand she pulled Ben out from under the table, telling him, "Come on, Ben, it's okay now." Then she told John, "We were just going to get a cookie each and some milk before we went to bed. We heard a big bang and it went dark and things began falling."

"We never done nothin," Ben said anxiously.

"We just got scared and hid under the table," Zara added. Then she asked, "Is Joey okay, too?"

"Who's Joey?" John asked her.

"Our new baby brother, he's in his crib in his room," the little girl replied. "Mommy had just put him there and went out to see Mrs Jackson."

John quickly contacted Gordon. "I've got two kids here, Gordon, safe and well. There's a baby in a nursery somewhere, get there now. I'm going out with these two."

"FAB, John I'm on my way," Gordon replied as he left what had once been a little girl's bedroom, where he'd been searching for signs of the missing children.

John scooped a child up into each arm and quickly made his way out of the ruined building. He emerged to great applause from the assembled crowd and the children's mother ran over to meet them.

He put the children down so they could be re-united with their mother who fell to her knees with her arms outstretched to embrace them with hugs, kisses and tears.

Finally she stood up, "My baby, what's happened to my baby, is he safe too?" she asked John. Desperation and worry still lined her features in spite of her joy at seeing her older children again.

"My colleague has gone for him, he should be out soon. Don't worry I'm sure he'll be fine," John told her, looking around to the entrance he had just emerged from to see if there was any sign of Gordon.

Gordon made his way through to what had once been a brightly decorated nursery, the floor now littered with small cuddly toys and baby equipment. He heard the crunch beneath his feet as he stepped on the remains of a mobile. He looked down at the design briefly as he rushed over to the crib. A beam had fallen down during the blast and knocked the crib on to its side spilling the precious contents out. The tiny baby's head had been knocked against the fallen masonry and Gordon could find no signs of life. Sadly, he wrapped the small remains in a blanket and slowly left the room, crunching again on the mobile as he went.

He paused in the doorway to report to Scott. "Gordon to Mobile Control, I'm coming out now. I've got a fatality here." His voice, trained to act with professional expertise belied the feelings he felt inside as he cradled the small bundle to his chest.

"FAB, get out of there now, Gordon, Virgil says the wall is going to go any minute!" Scott replied.

As Gordon emerged into the early morning sunshine carrying his tragic load, there was no applause this time as Scott had alerted the rescue authorities of the situation.

The dead baby was handed over to a paramedic and Gordon removed his protective headgear to take in a few much needed gulps of fresh air even if it was still a little dusty and the smell of smoke still lingered on.

The mother's grief hit her like a hammer. "My baby, my baby's dead!" She sobbed as she ran over to the paramedic who was now holding the dead infant. People tried to comfort her and embrace her but she continued to sob uncontrollably.

Gordon also tried to console her. "I'm so sorry, there was just nothing I could do," he told her. He hated these situations and wished he could find more comforting words he could use.

She looked at Gordon, then without warning, she broke away from those trying to comfort her and hurled herself at him lashing at his face and head screaming out as she did so. "My baby! You didn't save my baby! Your colleague saved my other two, why couldn't you save my baby? He was only three weeks old, and you let him die!"

Scott watched the scene in disbelief as John and a few other people pulled the woman away from Gordon and restrained her. She collapsed to the ground in a fit of inconsolable sobbing.

Meanwhile Virgil could restrain the wall with the Domo no longer and the sound of the crash as that part of the building fell down filled the air. The dust formed into a huge cloud rising upwards into the sky.

Scott left the Mobile Control Unit to go to his brothers. He quickly looked Gordon over. He was bleeding from his nose, his lip was cut from the attack and he had a few scratches down one cheek. "Get Gordon away from here into Two and clean him up," he told John. "I'll wrap things up here now that everything is just about over. Then we can get back to base."

"FAB," John replied. "Come on, Gordon, you heard what Scott said."

Without a word, Gordon followed his brother back to the huge rescue craft and they climbed up the pod ramp into the living quarters. He felt badly shocked by what had just happened. Although used to dealing with death and grief from previous rescues, he never felt as bad as he did now. He remained silent as John cleaned his wounds with antiseptic and then made them both a cup of coffee. They drank it in silence; the hot coffee stinging Gordon's cut lip, as they waited for Virgil and Scott to finish. The Firefly that Virgil had used earlier to assist in extinguishing the blaze, and the Domo would need to brought back into the pod. John was torn between offering to help with that or staying with Gordon, who, to John's eyes, was still suffering from the ordeal judging by his unusual silence.

He needn't have worried too much as the sound of the two emergency vehicles being driven into the pod indicated that Scott and Virgil were about ready to leave for home.

A few minutes later Scott came into the living quarters and went straight over to where Gordon was sitting. "You okay?" he asked him, while he scrutinised the injuries to his face.

"Yeah, I guess so, Scott," Gordon replied quietly.

"Well you don't look too bad, considering," Scott replied. "You know she didn't mean any of it, she was deranged by grief."

"I know that," Gordon answered. "Guess I was her prime target."

John placed a mug of coffee in Scott's hand and placed another one nearby for Virgil when he came in. "So you got everything cleared up out there with the authorities and we can go back home now?" he asked.

"Yes, not much more we can do around here now," Scott replied. "There'll be all the usual inquests and investigations into what happened. Blame will be passed around and then they'll try to prevent such a thing happening again. All the usual stuff, it's a pity people have to be killed or injured before they learn how to make buildings safe in the first place."

They were joined by Virgil; he, too, headed straight for Gordon when he came in. "Scott told me what happened, he thought your nose had been broken, looks okay though. Poor woman, guess the shock was too much for her."

"Of course it was," John said. "Something like that happening would push anybody over the edge."

"Look, guys can we just go home please?" Gordon asked. "I don't want to talk about it any more."

Scott gave Gordon's arm a gentle squeeze. "Okay, I'll get my gear packed into Thunderbird One while Virg finishes his coffee, then we can leave. I'll report to Dad to let him know we're on our way."

"Okay, Scott, see you back at base," Virgil answered.

Back on Tracy Island later that night, Scott Tracy called in to see his father alone in the study before he went to bed.

"I'm worried about Gordon, Dad, he seems to have taken what happened in Jamesville very badly. He's been so quiet since we got back which is unusual for him," Scott told him. "Virgil and John said he hardly spoke all the way back here either."

"Yes I noticed that. We all told him at the de-briefing that he was in no way to blame. The woman was distraught," Jeff answered. "Grief can be like that, it can make a person --," Jeff clammed up for a few seconds as he suddenly remembered the time he had been plunged into grief following the death of his beloved wife. He took a deep breath and continued. "He said the baby was dead when he found him, there was nothing he could do. He may just be tired you know, that was a long rescue."

"It hasn't helped with Grandma fussing over him and bringing the subject up at least twice since dinner."

"Where's he now?" Jeff asked.

"I assume he went to his room. He got up quick and left when Grandma brought the subject up again." Scott suddenly said, "I've got an idea how I might help him, Dad. Goodnight," he stood up ready to leave the study.

"Goodnight, son, and what ever your idea is, get some rest yourself afterwards. John and Virgil went to bed a while ago," he told his son before Scott vanished through the door in his haste to carry his idea out. Jeff smiled to himself and thought how much Scott worried about his younger brothers, always had done and probably always would. Although he had been concerned himself about Gordon and the way he had been since returning back from the rescue.

Gordon felt physically exhausted after the rescue but his mind was unable to switch off the memories. The wounds on his face, though not serious, were still sore and painful. He had developed slight bruises on his cheeks, too, since returning home. Normally, once he returned home, he could blank the painful scenes of death and destruction he'd witnessed from his mind by going swimming but it had been too late for that. This was the down side of International Rescue when the rescue went wrong as it had today. Though he knew he was not to blame for anything, his mind was still in playback mode causing him to stay wide awake. He went out to stand on his balcony to look at the sea, shimmering in the moonlight beneath a black, velvet sky. There were enough stars to keep John amused all night though he thought his brother would probably be too tired to care.

Seeing the sea, it reminded him of something he'd forgotten to do and he returned to his room. He heard a knock on his bedroom door and, glad of some company (as long as it wasn't his grandmother fussing over him again), went to open it. He wasn't too surprised to find Scott standing there.

"Hi, Scott, thought you would be in bed by now," he told his eldest brother.

"Well I was just going but I thought I would call in and see how you were. I see you haven't even attempted to go to bed yet, you're still dressed. Want to talk about what happened? That's the best way you know, get it all up and discussed."

"I know you're right, Scott, but gimme a minute to feed Oscar and Olivia first. I almost forgot to do it."

Scott stood silently watching as Gordon put some food into the aquarium. The two hungry seahorses immediately began darting and diving for the food.

Satisfied that his pets had been attended to, Gordon came over and sat down on the edge of his bed. He sighed and thought that he ought to have known Scott would do this, and now he felt ready to talk about it. Scott pulled up a chair and sat opposite him.

"I guess it was just going into that nursery, Scott," he began tentatively, "Seeing all those toys and things, and that mobile, I stood on it, you know what? It had a pattern of fishes and sea shells on it, which meant something to me. Then finding the baby like that. For a few seconds there was just me and him in his room. We were surrounded by all those toys, too, and other things that he was never going to use. Then of course what happened with his mother. I can still see her face, Scott and hear her words. I know she didn't mean it but I just can't get the picture out of my mind. He was only three weeks old, Scott. I just wish I'd found the other two kids and Johnny had found the baby, he may have handled it better than me."

"Or worse," Scott smiled. "Then I may have been in his room instead of yours having this conversation with him. I know it was an awful experience for you, Gordie. John would feel pretty much the same. We all would in the same circumstances. Sure that woman will grieve for her baby, then after a while she will be grateful for her other two kids and do her best to be a good Mom to them. There was just nothing more you could have done. At least you got her baby back to her so she could give him a funeral and say goodbye to him, and I'll bet she'll thank you for that, too."

"Thanks, Scott, I do feel better after talking it over. If it had happened to John instead of me, at least he would have had a perfect night for star gazing if he couldn't sleep."

"Good, I told you it would," Scott said and got up and pulled his brother into a hug. "Now seeing as we are both wide awake and dressed, how about me and you going for a little night fishing in the boat? It's been quite a while since we did that."

"You really mean it?" Gordon said enthusiastically. "What about you getting your rest? Supposing a rescue call comes in tomorrow."

"We've got two well rested brothers to fly, and I'm sure Brains and Tin Tin can lend a hand. You want to go or not?"

"Yeah, you bet, I want to pilot the boat though."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go," Scott said as he got up to leave with his younger brother close behind him.

Out on the Pacific Ocean the sea was quite calm as Gordon piloted the boat to a suitable place to stop for some fishing. Scott was pleased his idea had worked and his younger brother was in the place he loved best. Earlier he had watched the delight on Gordon's face as a school of dolphins swam near the boat. While Gordon was at the helm, Scott got the fishing lines ready and made the on deck sun-loungers comfortable although they would be more like moon-loungers for this particular trip. He heard the sound of the engines stop and knew Gordon would be out soon to join him.

The two brothers cast their lines and sat back to relax. Scott steered the conversation to Gordon's time in the WASP and his adventures at sea and they talked for quite a while about that. Soon they sat silent and just concentrated on their fishing though so far they had failed to catch anything.

Suddenly Scott noticed a tug on his line and said, "Hey, I've got one at last."

His excitement was not shared, however, as the only reply was a sound of low snores coming from Gordon's direction, his fishing rod slipping out of his hands as the gentle waves and the sea air had lulled him to sleep at last.

Scott quickly reeled in his catch and was fairly pleased with it. After putting it into the container, he then took Gordon's line from his hands and reeled it in, too.

He felt a glow of satisfaction that his job was done and Gordon was getting the sleep he needed. Although Gordon's pranks irritated beyond endurance, he hated to see his usual sunny natured brother in that state of depression, because it seemed like a black cloud had descended over the entire household. Scott then gently covered his young brother with a rug and went to start up the engines and pilot the boat back home.

Once they were safely moored beside the boat house and knowing he was close enough to home so he would not miss out on breakfast in the morning, Scott felt ready to get some sleep now, too. He never seemed to need as much sleep as the rest of his brothers so what he did get would suffice. Scott got a rug for himself and went to lie down on the other lounger. He listened to the gentle breathing of his brother, now that his snoring had subsided.

Once he had made himself comfortable, he thought things over in his mind about the recent conversation with Gordon in his room and one particular memory came to his mind. The thoughts of John flying Thunderbird One instead of him if a rescue call came in made him more determined to get some sleep. Johnny getting to fly One had to be prevented at all costs.

The End


End file.
